Palestinians won't be pressured into resuming peace talks with Israel as long as construction in Jewish settlements continues, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday. According to the AP, Abbas said a complete construction freeze is a prerequisite for resuming talks.
In his speech Monday, Abbas stated he would not give in to possible Israeli or international pressure on the Palestinians to resume negotiations even if settlement construction continues. "For sure, we won't submit to pressures. For example, if they say `come and then we'll see, come.' No, we won't accept. Regarding the peace talks, this is our position, even if someone, if anyone in the world, says `you're wrong,'" he conveyed.
Abbas also rejected previous Israeli demands that Palestinians not only recognize the state of Israel — as Abbas and others have — but recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He said it's not his job to define the state of Israel. "Name yourself, it's not my business," he said. "All I know is that there is the state of Israel, in the borders of 1967, not one centimeter more, not one centimeter less. Anything else, I don't accept."
